Deviant Behavior (CLP 6169)
Fall 2012
Dr. Greg J. Neimeyer
Room 258
Department of Psychology
Tues: 7:30-10:30am
Course Précis
This course provides a doctoral-level introduction to issues of psychopathology and psychodiagnosis. It
includes an understanding of the construction and deconstruction of psychiatric diagnoses, the cultural
and historical contingency of psychiatric diagnosis, and the processes of clinical interviewing. Prerequisites include successful completion of coursework in Abnormal Psychology, Personality
Psychology, and graduate-level practica.
Course Objectives




To develop familiarity with the historical and cultural contingencies associated with the
construction and deconstruction of the concept of psychopathology
To develop competence in utilizing the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-Fourth Edition
(DSM-IV-TR)
To develop skills in conducting and managing a diagnostic interview, and in developing a
psychodiagnostic assessment
To be able to effectively discuss and present on issues of mental health
Course Materials
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR).
Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association Press, 2000.
Shorter, E. (1997) A History of Psychiatry: From the Era of the Asylum to the Age of Prozac. New
York: Wiley
Horwitz, A. (2002) Creating Mental Illness. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Course Structure
This course will be divided into two tracks, each dedicated to a specific goal. One part of the course
addresses the construction of mental illness and the other to the deconstruction of mental illness.
The first part of each class will be dedicated to the construction of mental disorders where we will
address the development of specific disorders and their diagnosis, as well as the historical developments
that have contributed to contemporary understandings. This track outlines the dominant understanding
of psychological disorders in contemporary Western civilization and closely follows the contours of the
medical model. The primary texts for this part of the class will be A History of Psychiatry (Shorter) and
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual -IV-TR.
The second track of each class will be dedicated to the deconstruction of mental illness.
The purpose of this track is to encourage critical appraisal and reflection regarding aspects of psychiatric
diagnosis and contemporary contexts that support it. To support this appraisal we will be reading a
variety of critiques of the DSM , as well as the book, Creating Mental Illness. The goal of the course is
to develop dialectic between the construction and deconstruction of mental illness in a way that sharpens
your understanding and appreciation of multiple perspectives on mental illness and psychological
distress.
Course Requirements
Your grade will be based on class discussion, two topical presentations, a reaction to an autobiography
of mental illness and a personal project on a topic of your choosing.
Class Discussion. This class is a small, discussion-based seminar course that relies on the intensive
participation of everyone involved. In addition to your general participation in the course you will be
involved in leading class discussions. This class discussion will focus on aspects of psychopathology
(A History of Psychiatry) and the deconstruction of psychopathology (Creating Mental Illness). Class
discussion and participation is worth a maximum of 100 points.
Topical Presentations. You will have responsibility for two class presentations on selected clinical
disorders. Each presentation is worth 50 points for a maximum possible of 100 points.
Autobiographical Account. The purpose of the Autobiographical Account is to provide you a firstperson window onto the experience of psychological disorders or emotional distress. You can choose to
read any autobiography of mental illness that you would like and provide a brief reaction paper to that
account, according to your interests. The reaction paper is worth a maximum of 100 points.
Personal Project. The goal of the personal project is to encourage you to extend your knowledge
and/or application of course-related material in novel and personally relevant ways. You define the
content, nature, format and media utilized for your personal project which could involve conducting
surveys, producing a creative work, or any other creative extension or application of relevant course
material. Maximum point value is 100 points.
EXTRA-CREDIT BONUS. At the end of the semester you will have an opportunity to complete an
optional DSV-IV-TR test for a maximum of 25 extra-credit points.
Your final grade is determined by the total number of points you accumulate throughout the semester.
Possible points and associated grades are as follows:
Assignment
Points
Class discussion
Autobiographical Account
Personal Project
100 points
100 points
100 points
Class Presentations (2)
Total Possible Points
100 points
400 points
Bonus: DSM-IV-TR Test
25 points
Grading
Scale
Points
350 and above
325-449
300-424
275-399
250-374
Below 250
Grade
A
B+
B
C+
C
D
CLASS SCHEDULE
Week
Project Due Date
DECONSTRUCTION
1
CONSTRUCTION
Introduction to Psychopathology and
Psychodiagnosis
2 Brown:
Epistemological differences
within psychological science
Overview of the DSM-IV-TR
(pp xxiii-37)
3
Kraeplin and His Influence on Modern
Classification (Blashfield)
The Neo-Kraeplinian Movement in
American Society (Blashfield)
The Neo-Kraeplinian Movement
and the Medical Model (Blashfield)
Dilemmas in the Pathway of the
DSM-IV (Carson)
Autobiography
Titles Due
Fundamentals of Taxonomy (Hempel)
4 Disorder as Harmful Dysfunction Diagnostic Interviewing
(Wakefield)
Presentation
Topics Due
5 The Limits of Psychiatric
Knowledge and Problems of
Classification
Criteriological Diagnosis
DSM-IV and Cultural Considerations
6 Discovery, Invention, and the
Expansion of the Modern DMSs
(Houts)
History: Chapters 3 & 4
[2.
]
Disorders of Infancy, Childhood &
Adolescence (39-134)
History: Chapters 1 & 2
[1.
[ A.
7 Phenomenological Critique
Phenomenological and
Criteriological Concerns
9 Creating MI: Intro and Chapter 1
[5.
]
]
History: Chapters 5 & 6
[3.
]
Disorders of Infancy, Childhood &
Adolescence (39-134)
[ B.
8
]
]
History: Chapters 7 & 8
[4.
]
Substance Disorders [C.
Psychotic Disorders (297-344)
[D.
] [E.
Personal Project
Concepts Due
]
]
10
11 Creating MI: Chapters 4 & 5
[7.
]
Anxiety disorders (429-484)
[H.
12 Creating MI: Chapters 6 & 7
[8.
]
] [ I.
]
Somatoform Factors & Dissociative
(485-528) [J.
]
[K.
]
13
14 Creating MI: Conclusion
[10.
15 Personal Projects
16 Course Evaluations
THANKSGIVING
]
Adjustment Disorders & Personality
Disorders (679-730)
[N.
]
DSM-IV Test
Personal Projects
Due
Autobiography
Papers Due
Abnormal Psychology Autobiographies
An Unquiet Mind by K.R. Jamison (bipolar disorder)
Nobody Nowhere: The Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic by D. Williams (autism)
Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness by W. Styron (depression)
Out of the Depths by A.T. Boisin (schizophrenia)
Girl Interrupted by S. Kaysen (borderline personality disorder)
Too Much Anger, Too Many Tears by J. Gotkin & P. Gotkin (schizophrenia)
Getting Better: Inside Alcoholics Anonymous by N. Robertson (alcoholism)
Am I Still Visible? A Woman's Triumph Over Anorexia Nervosa by S. Heater (anorexia)
Welcome Silence: My Triumph Over Schizophrenia by C.L. North (schizophrenia)
A Brilliant Madness: Living With Manic-Depressive Illness by P. Duke (bipolar disorder)
A Drinking Life: A Memoir by P. Hamill (alcoholism)
Leaves from Many Seasons by O.H. Mowrer (depression)
The Liar's Club: A Memoir by M. Karr (family dysfunction)
Diary of a Fat Housewife: A True Story of Humor, Heartbreak and Hope by R. Green
(eating disorder)
Drinking: A Love Story by C. Knapp (alcoholism)
Codependent No More by M. Beattie (substance abuse)
The Captive Imagination by C.P. Gilman (diagnosis uncertain)
Memoirs of an Amnesiac by O. Levant (substance abuse)
Pain: The Essence of a Mental Illness by A.E. Anderson (bipolar disorder)
Starving for Attention by C.B. O'Neill (anorexia)
Nobody's Child by M. Balter & R. Katz (depression or schizophrenia)
The Beast: A Reckoning With Depression by T. Thompson (depression)
The Eden Express by M. Vonnegut (schizophrenia)
Phantom illness: Shattering the Myths of Hypochondria by C. Cantor (hypochondriasis)
Afraid of Everything: A Personal History of Agoraphobia by D.M. Woods (agoraphobia)
When the Music's Over: My Journey Into Schizophrenia by R. Burke (schizophrenia)
Father Have I Kept My Promise? by E. Weisskopf-Joelson (schizophrenia)
Call Me Anna: The Autobiography of Patty Duke by P. Duke (bipolar disorder)
Beyond All Reason by M. Coate (schizophrenia)
An Angel at My Table: An Autobiography by J. Frame (schizophrenia)
Keeping Secrets by S. Somers (dysfunctional family)
Breakdown by N.S. Sutherland (bipolar disorder)
Now You Know by K. Dukakis (substance abuse)
Secret Life: An Autobiography by M. Ryan (childhood sexual abuse)
Prozac Nation: Young and Depressed in America by E. Wurtzel (depression)
When Rabbit Howls: The Troops for Truddi Chase by T. Chase (multiple personality disorder)
Women of the Asylum: Voices From Behind the Walls 1840-1945 by J. Geller (life in mental hospitals)
The Loony-Bin Trip by K. Millett (bipolar disorder)
Undercurrents: A Life Beneath the Surface, Harper San Francisco
Undercurrents: A Therapist's Reckoning With Her Own Depression by M. Manning (depression)
A Mind of My Own: The Woman Who Was Known as Eve Tells the Story of Her Triumph by C.
Sizemore (multiple personality disorder)